The FDA has approved a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) for the treatment of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest.

The FDA’s premarket approval process for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) addresses potential clinical risks but not information security risks, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) have been demonstrated to reduce mortality, but treatment teams may not fully appreciate, or adequately respond to, the psychosocial distress ICD patients and their families experience, according to a statement from the American Heart Association.

The FDA has set a goal date of March 17 to review apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer) to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Physicians in ambulatory practices have embraced the anticoagulant dabigatran, with cardiologists leading the charge, according to a study published in the September issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The direct thrombin inhibitor was prescribed primarily for atrial fibrillation (AF), and it was increasingly used off-label. Nonetheless, AF undertreatment persisted.

Although permanent dual-chamber pacemaker device use is increasing in the U.S., single-chamber ventricular pacemaker use is decreasing. These trends have resulted in a 45 percent increase in hospital charges, driven by the cost of dual-chamber devices, and have "healthcare policy implications," according to authors of a study published online Sept. 19 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

While pharmacotherapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) varies according to comorbidity and underlying risk, a study of Medicare Part D claims data showed that amiodarone was the most commonly prescribed antiarrhythmic agent at approximately 50 percent. The study appeared in the September issue of HeartRhythm.